In distributed computing systems having a service oriented architecture, services may be provided by multiple servers at various locations. For a client to utilize available services, the client must know a service address and a service policy (including protocol and message format requirements) of the services. In conventional service oriented architectures, service addresses and service policies are maintained in a message registry along with service descriptions.
When a service address changes, the service registry must be updated to alert clients of the new service address. A client will not know to look for a new service address in the service registry until it fails to receive a response (or receives a fault) to one or more messages sent to the service at the original service address. Therefore, delays may occur in using services that have relocated to new service addresses. Moreover, there is a lag between when a service is updated, and when the updated service information is reflected in the service registry. Thus, the new service address may not be available immediately. Additionally, for some clients it may be burdensome to query the service registry for new service information when service addresses are changed.